The Weight of the World
by Bojangles78
Summary: The Flock are at the beach, what could possibly go wrong? You've probably guessed it, and if you haven't you soon will.
1. I Am A Rock

**AN- This is set kind of between MR2 and MR3, as the Erasers still exist. The title is from an Editors song ('the Wight of the World'- check it out!), and the lyrics at the end from Simon & Garfunkel's I Am A Rock. Hope you like it :)**

* * *

We were on a beach. I know we don't exactly have a brilliant track record as far as beaches go, but the combined forces of Angel, Nudge and Gazzy had eventually persuaded me otherwise, so we had found a beach which lay at the bottom of a hundred foot tall cliff face: totally deserted, my favourite kind.

I stretched tiredly and closed my eyes, ready for the much needed sleep that should soon be heading my way. The sounds of Angel and Gazzy playing happily in the water reached my ears, and I could clearly hear Nudge rambling on to Iggy, Fang and Total about the five minutes of _Grey's Anatomy_ she'd seen on some TV a while ago, and I laughed as I pictured the three rolling their eyes and stifling yawns as the pros and cons of 'McDreamy' and 'McSteamy' were explained to them.

The Sun shone lazily in the sky, its warm rays relaxing me further. I guess I must have fallen asleep around then, and when I woke up a few hours later, the sky was darkening and shadowy clouds loomed on the horizon. The younger kids were still playing in the water, Fang and Iggy watching them carefully, and Total yelped loudly as Angel splashed him with a handful of water. I stood up.

"Guys," I called. They unwillingly made their way over to where I was stood at the foot of the cliff. "I know you're not going to be too happy about this, but I think we'd better go find somewhere to crash for the night; it looks like it's going to rain pretty soon."

They (reluctantly) agreed, and we were just about to take off when Angel and Iggy froze. Erasers.

_How many?_ I thought in my head, and Angel replied quickly.

_20. They're mad, Max, 'cause we got away from Anne's. _

_OK, sweetie, 30 should be no problem. We'll have them wrapped up in no time,_ I thought confidently as I threw my bag down behind one of the rocks, and motioned for everyone to follow suit.

"Right, you all know what to do. If we get split up, wait an hour or so and head for the beach we saw ten miles north, OK?" They nodded obediently and the Erasers began to descend awkwardly.

Still got wing issues then.

I rose quickly and took out 2 or 3 on my way up; they snarled at me as they fell towards the now grey, stormy water 20 feet below. Another couple fell victim to my elbows as I broke both their noses and swirled to kick the bigger one in the, well, you know. I took this opportunity to scan the surrounding area and see how the others were doing.

Angel was sat on the edge of the cliff, laughing scarily as Eraser after Eraser flew at her and plummet to their rocky demises. Nudge and Gazzy were fighting together and were doing very well for it; the Erasers around them were eying them warily and turning their attentions to Iggy instead, the obvious target, not that any of them managed to touch him. Fang fought, as usual, quietly but fiercely, his eyes glinting dangerously as he looked over in my direction. I flashed him a quick smile and concentrated on two particularly lopsided Erasers who were heading straight for me. I don't want to sound boastful or anything, but these two took less than half a minute to deal with, and I laughed in their faces as they flew away. Big mistake.

Of course, I only realised this as I was whacked round the head, hard. A stream of expletives escaped my mouth and I heard Fang shout from below.

"MAX! Behind you!" he yelled, but it was too late.

The Eraser who'd hit me summoned two of his remaining allies and I winced as one of them decided to dislocate my shoulder. Well, more than winced, if I'm honest, but you probably guessed as much. I tried desperately to fight back, remembering bitterly the many lessons Jeb had given us in self-defence when we were younger but not actually doing anything with my knowledge. Another swipe, this time across the back of my neck, made me aware that I was beginning to lose consciousness, not that this stopped them. Positively encouraged them if anything. The stocky one I'd noticed Gazzy fighting earlier kicked me hard and his friend took a shiny silver blade out of his pocket and pierced my thick leather jacket several times.

This was it, I thought as my eyes were pulled closed by the final heavy blow to my face. I'd like to think I fell gracefully into the water, although even Iggy would have disagreed.

That water! It was as icy now as it had been warm earlier, which proved to be a blessing as I was pulled back into full consciousness, but the water was so dark I had no idea where the surface could be, or where the bed where many of the Erasers we'd destroyed earlier was either.

**Think, Maximum**, my Voice chimed in helpfully. I let out the same string of expletives as I had let out earlier, and gagged as I swallowed sea-water. I needed to get to the surface, didn't I?

It may have been the lack of oxygen, or my oh-so-attractive pessimistic streak, but suddenly I felt a rush of weariness and indifference wash over me. Why should I fight the sea? It's not like it would have been any great loss; only five people in the whole world were aware of my existence, and they'd get on fine without me. My thoughts soon drifted away, and I realised that everything seemed to be shutting down, I could barely hear or see anything, but was very aware of the steady slowing of my heartbeat as I drifted down into the sea's depth.

* * *

Fang looked around him; the last of the Erasers had gone, but where was Max? The others had gone on to the other beach, leaving him anxiously scanning his surroundings.

"Max!" he bellowed into the evening sky. The Sun that had shined so happily on them earlier was beginning to set, bathing the sea in its orange light. Red in some places, a deep, crimson red, spreading out in a circle by the rocks about a mile out.

He knew instinctively that she was there, and he flew as fast as he could, trying desperately to block the thoughts screaming through his mind. A beat-up purple shoe floated on the surface where the blood lay. It was Max's shoe.

Fang took a deep breath and dived into the salty, red water. He swam down as far as could, swam until his lungs ached for air, until- there! - he saw her, and dragged he desperately to the surface. He held her close to him until they landed on the beach, where he laid her gently on the soft white sand.

Her body was still, pulse weak, yet her face was struck with a look of intense peacefulness, made all the more beautiful by the Sun's soothing light. She couldn't be dead; wouldn't be dead, but this did not stop Fang from leaning over her fragile form and whispering softly to her, stroking her face. She stirred a little as he did this, and tried to sit up. She struggled for breath and spent the next few moments coughing and spluttering several litre's worth of seawater before she felt capable of speech. She tried again to sit up, and this time Fang pulled her up carefully so she was leant against his side.

"I'm so glad you're alive, Max," he said quietly, and, for the first time since, well, forever, Max watched in horror as Fang, the Rock, burst into tears.

* * *

_And a rock feels no pain._

_And an island never cries._


	2. Bones

**AN- Sorry its taken me a while to update, and thank you to Person95, dusk3ttex01, Amy-Katherine914 and alicecullen234 for your reviews, I really appreciated it :) Hope you like this chapter! The lyrics at the end are from an Editors song 'Bones'; its pretty dang awesome XD**

* * *

I coughed and coughed, trying to rid my lungs of the seawater that lined their depths, and I guess I must have gone a little too far, because before I knew it, I was throwing up.

Over Fang's shoes.

Fabulous.

He was nice about it though, holding my hair back until I had finished, and politely excused himself to wash off his shoes in the sea as I cleaned myself up. I began to apologise (I know what you're thinking: _Max actually apologised?_ I threw up on his shoes, people!) but he wasn't having any of it, so instead I asked if the others had gone to the beach as I'd told them to. They had, and we were about to leave to meet them when Fang turned around and looked at me, and I was more than slightly worried when his usually impassive face was filled with alarm.

"What?"I demanded graciously. He couldn't bring himself to speak, and I soon realised why when he gestured for me to look behind me. More Erasers?

No. Just a trail of blood, staining the golden sand around me. I looked down at myself, and, I am embarrassed to report, I fainted. Again.

* * *

Fang watched as Max fell slowly to the floor. What had looked like mere scratches earlier he could now were deep wounds where the Erasers had swiped viciously in their anger. He hadn't noticed these before, although, to be fair, he had been slightly more concerned with making sure she was actually alive. _You know, the little things_.

The obvious thing would be to find the others; they couldn't stay spilt up for long, so he carefully lifted her from where she was laid, her coffee coloured hair spread out around her, and took off awkwardly, headed for the beach and the Flock.

After around five minutes' surprisingly quick flying he could see them sat anxiously on the beach. Iggy had already set up a small camp-fire and Angel and Nudge were happily roasting the (probably out of date) sweets they had found in their bags, and the boys were almost certainly discussing explosives. He did try not to make our approach too rough for Max, as the slightest jolt could make her injuries worse than they already were, but inconspicuous it was not.

For a start, Angel had heard them as they had gotten nearer, bombarding Fang's brain with question after question. Also (he realised with a lurch in his stomach) they had left a crimson trail of blood behind them for the past few miles, although he had managed to stop some of it from escaping by wrapping her knee in his shirt. Still, apart from the whole shirtless flying mutant carrying similarly endowed mutant dripping blood here there and everywhere, it could have gone a lot worse.

They landed, and Fang cautiously placed Max on the sand. Iggy soon ran his delicate fingers over her body, assessing her injuries.

"We need to find her a hospital or something," he announced a couple of minutes later in a low voice. She stirred as he said this, and Fang's hand instantly flew to her face, caressing the newly formed scars absent-mindedly as the others gave each other knowing looks behind his back. Well, apart from Iggy, although a wicked grin adorned his pale face.

Her eyes flickered open, and although she looked mildly alarmed to find Fang as close to her as he was, she smiled briefly.

"What about..." she paused to catch her breath several times, "Dr Martinez and...Ella. You know," she paused again, making Fang's heart ache with worry, "before we got to Lake Mead, the girl I saw..."

"I know where you mean," Fang said, and she shot him a grateful look as she caught her breath again. She was exhausted, and so were the others, but they needed to get help as soon as possible. It had to be at least a three hour flight to her house from where they were, so Fang and Iggy offered to fly on with Max and find the younger kids somewhere safe to stay, until Angel reminded them how bad it had been the last time they split up.

They stacked their fists together before they took off, a sign of support. After four hours of slow flying, they finally reached the Martinez house, still safely surrounded by tall trees. Nudge walked towards the cream door and knocked nervously. It opened equally as nervously; after all, it was pretty late at night, to reveal Valencia Martinez's tired face. Her eyes focused on the children in front of her, and her mouth nearly fell into an attractive 'O' shape as she spotted Max cradled in Fang's strong arms.

"Oh, Max."

* * *

_In the end, all you can hope for_

_Is the love you felt to equal the pain you've gone through_


	3. Dakota

I opened my eyes (once again) to reveal a fuzzy black figure to my right. I blinked a few times as Fang's tired face came into view, just as he stifled a huge yawn.

"Tired?" I quipped. He shot me a look and I blushed as I suddenly realised I had no idea where I was, or why I was in bed.

I must have looked considerably confused, for Fang was now regarding me nervously. "Are you ok?" he asked me.

"I'm not sure where I am," I replied, still confused, although an irresistible odour was winding its way up my nostrils. "Why can I smell cookies?"

"We're at your friend Ella's house," Fang began. "I brought you here after what happened at the beach- you remember what happened at the beach, don't you?" I nodded as images started to filter into my brain. "Anyway, Dr. Martinez, I mean, her Mom, managed to close your wounds, although you lost a ton of blood, practically, so Iggy and I had to, you know, help out."

I nodded again, wincing as the stitches I hadn't realised were there tugged in my side. Fang was still sat beside me, watching me silently, which I have to admit was a little unnerving. He was being nice though, I guess, which counted for something...especially compared to normal. Speaking of which...

"Where're the others?" he nodded towards the window; Mr. Rock was back. I followed his gaze out to the trees where Angel and Nudge were talking about something or other. A disposable barbeque lay discarded at its base- I could guess what Iggy and Gazzy had been doing.

_Max?_ Angel thought.

_Yeah?_ My head was filled with excitement as the girls flew down the tree and up the stairs.

"Max!" they exclaimed as my neck was wrung in what Nudge clearly believed was a hug.

"Omigosh, I am so glad you're ok! 'Cause, we saw you when Fang brought you here and we thought you were just joking with us, you know? Except there was so much blood, and-" she fell silent at a significant glance from Angel, who clearly felt my impeding headache as much as I did.

_Thanks, sweetie_.

Iggy, Gazzy and Total soon followed the girls, and, once she got in from school, so did Ella. I noticed with mild interest that she was sat a lot closer to Iggy than usual, not that he seemed to mind that much. Dr. Martinez, I was reliably informed, was still at work, but would be home by five. I listened eagerly to everyone as they shared all pieces of information (no matter how boring, I noted with an internal yawn) that I had missed since arriving, but unfortunately for Nudge I was growing more and more tired as yawn after yawn was unsuccessfully stifled.

Fang noticed though, and, with a curt nod at the others, and a quick prod of Iggy, they soon left the room, leaving us alone, which obviously wasn't awkward at all.

Can you tell I'm being sarcastic?

My eyelids were fighting to stay open, but I repelled their urges as I saw Fang open his mouth nervously, running his hands through his hair. He sat down on the sofa next to the bed, squinting in the late afternoon sunlight. He reached out impulsively and gently stroked my forehead, pretty much the one unscathed part of my body.

OK, I'm exaggerating.

Whatever.

"I'm glad you're alright, Max," he mumbled. I smiled back at him, trying vainly to stay awake for a few more moments. He leaned down and pecked my forehead lightly- damn those Erasers for splitting my lips.

Still, it was better than nothing, right?

He smiled back at me and my heart beat loudly in my battered ribcage. I blushed and he laughed as he lay down on the sofa and went back to sleep.

_You made me feel like the one,_

_Made me feel, like the one_

_The one._


	4. Crazy For You

**AN- I'm so sorry it's taken so long to update again! This will probably be that last chapter, unless I have any Major Brainwaves, but I've kinda run out of ideas! Still, hope you like this chapter, title's from an (AWESOME) Adele song, 'Crazy For You' :)**

* * *

"Honestly, we'll be back before you have time to miss us," I promised Ella for the fifty seventh time; we were leaving today to go find somewhere else to stay for a while, within flying distance of the Martinez house, of course. Not that this stopped Ella from getting upset. I could tell Dr. Martinez was getting a little teary as well, although I had explained that we'd try not to be more than an hour or so away, if possible. None of us were particularly familiar with the local area, but we'd been leant a map of the state which showed the most deserted and populated places so as to avoid recognition and the capture that came with it.

Ella continued crying, though she cheered up some when Iggy came over and gave her a hug; I laughed as a blush crept up both their cheeks. Angel followed Iggy's example, wrapping herself around Dr. Martinez's legs and holding tightly.

"Come on Angel, sweetie," I said as I half-wrenched her from Dr. M's body.

_I don't want to go though Max._

_I know you don't, but we won't be very far away, now, will we?_

_I guess._

I patted her on the head and turned just in time to see Gazzy slipping a small box into his jean pockets.

"Gazzy. Hand over the matches before I blow you up myself." He grinned sheepishly as he passed the offending box to me, and Dr. M shot me a grateful (or exasperated, it really could have been either) look.

Fang, stood by the gate, checked his battered watch anxiously, for it would be dark soon and we needed somewhere to stay for the night. I sighed and made my way over to Dr. M and Ella, and blinked hurriedly as they enveloped me into a chocolate scented embrace.

"Remember, we're always here if you need us, honey." I nodded as her face blurred through my unshed tears, and was vaguely aware of my surroundings as we walked towards the gate to take off, careful to make sure we were not being watched.

Half an hour or so later we saw a small park about a mile away, disguised cleverly by a thick wall of trees. It had obviously been some time since this park was last used, judging by the yellowed newspapers scattered on its floor: "BEATLES TO SPILT AFTER YEARS IN THE SPOTLIGHT."

To be perfectly honest, I had no idea who the Beatles were (grew up in a dog crate, remember?) but the accompanying headlines revealed that this park had probably been out of use for around forty years.

I motioned towards it and Fang glanced in my direction for what felt like the hundredth time since we left the Martinez house.

"You alright?" He muttered.

I nodded, "I think so, although my wings are a bit stiff."

We landed silently and I watched as Angel and Nudge raced towards the disused swings. They creaked ominously in the darkness, and I couldn't help feeling like we were being watched. Maybe it was a bit of the old paranoia kicking in. Hmm.

Angel obviously hadn't spotted anything, and Iggy seemed calm, for Iggy. Fang looked uncomfortable too, I was relieved to see, his eyes darting around as is chasing a mosquito with them.

Within twenty minutes, the others were settling in the overgrown grass to sleep, and I sat rigidly at the top of the slide, the highest part of the park where I could still see the Flock. I have to admit, I did feel more than slightly stupid, sat in the middle of a (mercifully deserted) children's play area, wings splayed either side of the weird metal construction, whistling the song stuck in my head since yesterday.

"Hello Max." I shrieked and fell rather ungracefully down the cold metal slide, and growled in embarrassment more than anything else as I saw Fang's smug face appear at the top of the stupid ladder.

"I couldn't sleep," he continued as I hauled myself up.

"So you decided to go scare the living daylights out of your leader?" I interrupted, still annoyed at the crimson blush I could feel spreading across my face. He smirked until I flew up and shoved him down the same metal I had fallen down moments before. "Gosh, I can definitely go to sleep now!"

"Sorry, I thought you would've heard me," he replied from his new position on the gravel.

We walked over to the creaky swings and sat down on them carefully.

"So. You think this is a good place to stay?" Fang asked quietly.

"Not really. I mean, it'll be a good place to come in the day for Angel and Gazzy, but we need a house, or something, don't we?" I replied. "I mean, it'd be great if we could stay close to Ella and her mum, but I don't know if we'll be able to, and we can't exactly walk into an Estate Agents' and ask for a nice, isolated house, preferably in the woods, with individual rooms for six mutant kids, can we?"

"Maybe we could try living in motels or something," he suggested, "like, in the city, where they have thousand room hotels. They'd never notice we were even there."

"I guess, and if we're near a city we won't be so obvious to others, and, so long as we can get to places like this easily, we wouldn't be too far from places," I continued with his idea, thinking of the different ways we could get in and out of town- trains, planes, buses et cetera- until we'd be far out enough to start flying again.

It was actually a pretty good idea, not that I was going to admit it to Fang any time soon.

**Is there something else you're keeping from Fang?** I blushed once more, hoping that the Voice would sense my anger instead.

"No!" I exclaimed.

"No what?" Fang asked, confused. I ignored him, hoping he'd get the picture.

**You mean you're **_**not**_** crazy for him?**

_Shut up, Voice._

**Only when you tell him**

_What if I don't?_ There was a pause as the Voice thought about it for a bit.

Suddenly, my brain was filled with images, conversations being played through my mind

_Fang, watching me learn how to fly: "How come she's so good?"_

_Fang, fighting Erasers: "Get your hands OFF her!"_

_Fang, a couple of days ago, leaning into me as I was still unconscious: "I love you so much, Max."_

I opened my eyes and found myself on the floor, Fang's worried brown eyes meeting my own confused ones.

"Max? Are you alright?"

I shook my head slowly, "Killer headache. Stupid Voice was going on at me again."

"What about?" My face flushed scarlet at his question, giving away the answer spectacularly.

"Oh."

He leaned forwards so our faces were almost touching, and...

Well, you can probably guess what happened next.

And no, I did not fly away afterwards either.


End file.
